Refugees

Collection consists of: a collection of bills and resolutions (1912-1937); issues of the "Congressional Record" (1908, 1917, 1933, 1937, 1944-1948, 1950-1952); material relating to the independence of the Philippine Islands (1923, 1930-1931); war refugees; immigration laws; worker's compensation; fair employment practices; college discrimination; rent control; price controls; communism; labor and industry laws; liquor laws; and tributes to Samuel Gompers, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolph J. Sabath, and Israel's second anniversary.

Correspondence of Albert Salomon, manuscripts, course outlines, photos

This is an artificial collection that contains digitized photographs and slides selected from various collections in the Archives of the American Soviet Jewry Movement, and other related collections at the American Jewish Historical Society. The physical part of the collection consists of one manuscript box containing 415 photographs that were separated from their parent collections.

This collection contains the papers of Babette Wampold and the Alabama Council to Save Soviet Jews and documents their activities on behalf of the American Soviet Jewry Movement. The collection is comprised of correspondence, case files, clippings, newsletters, photographs, and trip reports.

The papers of Bayard Rustin, a prominent American civil rights leader, LGBT rights activist, and advocate for the Black-Jewish cooperation in the United States, that focus on his involvement in the American Soviet Jewry movement. The collection contains speeches and articles on Soviet Jewry by Bayard Rustin from 1960s-1980s. Also included are publications by the executive secretary of the Conference on the Status of Soviet Jews, Moshe Decter— Redemption! Jewish freedom letters from Russia with foreword by Rustin, and "Silence and Yearning: A Report and Analysis of the Status of Soviet Jewry" based on the findings of the Ad Hoc Commssion on the Rights of Soviet Jews, chaired by Rustin.

This collection contains personal papers of the American Soviet Jewry movement activists Carol and Michael Bierman including background materials on Jews in the USSR, documents, and artifacts from demonstrations, rallies and cultural events of the movement, newsletters, pamphlets, and brochures. Also included are photographs and audio and video materials pertaining to Refuseniks, Prisoners of Conscience and Jewish emigration from the Soviet Union.

The papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner represent the activities of the American Soviet Jewry Movement activist. The collection contains reports on visiting Soviet Jews during Mrs. Turner’s visits to U.S.S.R., accompanied by a large number of photos and slides taken during those trips. The materials also include audio recordings from the events related to the Soviet Jewry Movement, including the Second World Conference of Jewish Communities on Soviet Jewry in 1976; a t-shirt, hat and scarf commemorating the Soviet Jewry Summit in Washington, D. C., metal bracelets stamped with names of Refuseniks, a collection of commemorative buttons and 4 posters. The papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner also contain notes, photographs, slides and audio recordings related to her work on behalf of Ethiopian Jewry.

The records of Chicago Action for Soviet Jewry (CASJ, after 1991 known as Chicago Action for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, CAJFSU), a grassroots volunteer organization dedicated to helping Soviet Jews emigrate from the Soviet Union and protecting the Refuseniks. CASJ was founded in the early 1970s as a result of the formation of the national organization, the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews, which included approximately 50 other local councils. The collection documents the CASJs activities from its inception until it closed in 2010. The collection also features materials related to the activities of CASJ’s umbrella organization, Union of Councils for Soviet Jews and its legal arm Soviet Jewry Legal Advocacy Center. The materials include correspondence, memoranda, case files, trip reports, publications, photographs, posters, audio, video, and three-dimensional artifacts.

Collection contains correspondence relating to the committee's fund-raising efforts throughout the United States to aid survivors of the Russian pogroms, both in Russia, and in the United States, with particular focus on orphaned children. Contains information on the condition of the Jews in Russia and Roumania during and after the pogroms; on the relief and removal activities in Europe, in general, and Russia, in particular; on the self-defense movement and defense fund; immigration procedures and work of the Industrial Removal Office; and some financial and executive committee reports.

The officers of the Committee were Oscar Solomon Straus, chairman, Jacob Henry Schiff, treasurer, and Cyrus Leopold Suizberger, secretary.

The David Waksberg Papers are comprised of materials generated while Waksberg served in a variety of leadership roles in the American Soviet Jewry Movement in the 1980s and early 1990s: Executive Director of the Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews (BACSJ); National Vice-President of Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ); member of the UCSJ Board of Directors; Director of the Center for Jewish Renewal; Director of Development and Communication of UCSJ; a founder of the Russian-American Bureau on Human Rights in Moscow. The materials primarily consist of correspondence, reports, grant proposals, notes, clippings, newsletters and photographs.

The papers of Doris H. Goldstein represent the activities of the American Soviet Jewry Movement activist from Atlanta, GA. The collection contains notes, photos and memorabilia from two trips to the USSR to meet with the Soviet Jews, a DVD recording of the program presented at an Atlanta rally on behalf of Soviet Jewry in 1987, local press coverage of Doris H. Goldstein’s activism, her correspondence and memos of the Atlanta Jewish Federation regarding Jews in the Soviet Union. Materials include memorandums, correspondence, clippings, photographs, a DVD and a scrapbook.

The Dorothy Filene collection documents the personal life and professional activities of Dorothy Filene, née Finkelstein and to a lesser extent personal lives of a number of members of the Finkelstein family. This collection consists of a variety of materials such as correspondence, clippings, annual reports, brochures, job applications, notes and other school materials, minutes, and various manuals, used by Dorothy Filene in her work as a social worker.

Contains 12 family documents relating to the following members of the Ehrlich family: David Ehrlich of Germany, d. 1861, 1 item; Leopold Ehrlich of Rogasen, Germany, 1852-1921, 6 items, including certificates of election to city council; Jonas Alexander Israel Ehrlich, 1886-1953, who emigrated in 1939 to Brazil, 5 items, including a recommendation for a travel visa to Brazil.

Papers of Elaine Pittell cover the period from mid-1970’s to early 1990’s and document her and her husband’s Robert Pittell’s activities as the Chair of the Jewish Federation of South Broward’s Soviet Jewry Committee. The documents include correspondence, memos, minutes, publications, news clippings, audiocassettes, videocassette, disc negatives and pins.

This record group includes documents created and maintained by the Office of the President, the Office of the Executive Director and the Chair of the Division Coordinators/Directors Committee. Prominent is the Henrietta Szold series, containing correspondence by and to Szold as well as printed materials written by and about her. The files in this record group were created by a national president or executive director, or for their use, or maintained in their office during their years in office. Included are correspondence, minutes, memos, publications, reports and subject files on topics with which these individuals were involved.

The Gabrielle Glueckselig Collection centers on the personal and professional lives of Gaby and her husband Fritz Glueckselig. This collection documents many facets of the couple's lives, including their professional work, friendships, and families. A large focus is on the literary work of Fritz Glueckselig, Gaby's hosting of the German-language Stammtisch (originally founded by Oskar Maria Graf and George Harry Asher), and their families, but many other aspects of their lives are also documented here. The bulk of the collection consists of their correspondence, drafts of Fritz Glueckselig's writing, and a large amount of photographs and photo albums. Other documents include official documents of Gaby, Fritz and some family members; sketches including of Gaby's jewelry designs; a few scrapbooks; drafts of other authors' works; and other materials.

The General Jewish Council was an umbrella organization founded by the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith, and Jewish Labor Committee in order to coordinate their rights defense activities.

The bulk of the records in this collection date between from 1938-1944, the active years of the Council. Materials consist primarily of correspondence, minutes, memoranda, and reports.

The papers consist of correspondence and reports of Cecelia Razovsky (married name: Davidson), noted social worker specializing in immigration and resettlement of refugees. The collection includes information about her work with the National Council of Jewish Women in the 1920s, and with the National Refugee Service (and predecessor organizations) in the 1930s. Information is included about her work as a Resettlement Supervisor in the post-World War II Displaced Persons camps in Europe, and as a field worker in the southwestern U.S. for the United Service for New Americans in 1950. The collection contains reports and correspondence from her trips to South America, primarily Brazil, to explore possibilities of refugee settlement in 1937 and 1946; as a representative for United HIAS Service to aid in settling Egyptian and Hungarian refugees in 1957-1958; and as a pleasure trip and evaluation of the changes in the Jewish community of the country in 1963. Also included in the collection are many of Razovsky's articles, plays, and pamphlets.

This collection contains records of the HIAS-ICA Emigration Association HICEM, an organization that supported the emigration of European Jews. It was created in 1927 by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Jewish Colonization Association (ICA), and Emig-Direkt. Materials include minutes, correspondence, administrative records, and reports on the situation of Jews in various parts of Europe.

The collection consists of copies of correspondence on the placement of German refugees from the office of High Commissioner James G. McDonald with numerous refugee-aid organizations and prominent individuals as well as minutes of commission meetings, press releases, reports of commission subcommittees dealing with finances, passports, travel regulations and special problems of emigration by professionals.

The records document the Histadruth Ivrit's early history to the present, representing a significant portion of its work in spreading the Hebrew language in the United States in the second half of the twentieth-century. The records include substantial amount of material regarding the organization's history, administration, public events, publications, and reports. Some information of the early history of the Histadruth Ivrit could be found in the records kept by the writer Daniel Persky. Persky collected personal and professional records that include correspondence with friends, readers, and writers; a partial collection of the drafts of his own publications, and a collection of photographs and newspaper clippings. The functions and activities of the Histadruth Ivrit are documented through Board of Trustees and Board meetings agendas and minutes; various programs for events, conventions, conferences, and celebrations; documents related to fundraising; public relations, press releases and brochures; correspondence with different individuals, organizations, and foundations; Histadruth Ivrit's publications among them the newspaper Hadoar and Tov Lichtov; a large collection of photographs, and scrapbooks. The records of the Histadruth Ivrit represent the large majority of the organization's activities dating from the 1980s to the present. Records for the earlier years of activities are fragmented and incomplete. The records related to the life of Daniel Persky are also partial and copies of many of his publications are missing. This collection included brochures, correspondence, financial records, flyers, grant applications, invitations, lists, minutes, news clipping, orders, periodicals, photographs, press releases, reports, and scrapbooks.

This collection contains the institutional records of the Houston Action for Soviet Jewry, mainly news clippings, correspondence, files about refuseniks, and various materials and programs for events which Houston Action for Soviet Jewry sponsored or was involved with. There are also some materials from other organizations set up to aid Soviet Jewry, including the Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews, the Chicago Action for Soviet Jewry and the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. Many of these materials concern the situation of Jews in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as in the 1990s, soon after the end of the Soviet Union.

The Institute of Jewish Affairs was a scientific and research organization attached to the World Jewish Congress. The collection consists of brochures, reports, surveys and other research publications. The materials address the plans, goals and activities of the organization as well as containing studies of Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe, Jewish life in the postwar era in various countries and political events influencing Jewry and anti-Semitism. The collection also includes analyses of international legislation on questions which were influencing the Jewish situation within the spheres of human rights, minorities and migration at the time.

Contains articles and writings by Irene S. Woods regarding her life in Berlin at the beginning of World War II, and in Boston, MA as a refugee. Includes reprinted letters written by Woods' grandmother, Jenny Pelz, to friends and family 1939-1941.

The collection contains papers of Jerry Goodman, the founding director of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, the largest and most influential organization created by the American Jews to coordinate efforts on behalf of Soviet Jews, which survives today as NCSJ: Advocates on Behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia. The bulk of the collection covers the activities from the early 1970s through late 1980s. The collection includes some minutes of meetings, memoranda, correspondence, newsletters and publications of the NCSJ and its precursor, the American Jewish Committee on Soviet Jewry (AJCSJ, 1964-1971). Among other materials are some posters and considerable number of photographs on Refuseniks and of the ASJM events in New York and the US, audio recordings on compact cassettes and reel-to-reels re-mastered into CD format, and VHS tapes. The collection also contains non-paper objects like pins, pendants, bracelets devoted to prisoners of conscience in the USSR, as well as a t-shirt, a scarf and a shopping bag.

This collection contains the archives of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, a national coordinating agency which assists national and regional Jewish agencies in the U.S. and Canada in fund raising, community organization, health and welfare planning, public relations, and similar missions.

Collection includes materials of the predecessor agency (Bureau of Jewish Social Research), correspondence, research, budget reports, audits, and reports on the activities of approximately 600 national, local, and overseas Jewish agencies.

This collection contains correspondence, brochures, memorandum, pamphlets, fliers, invitations, reports, programs and press releases. The documents in this collection describe issues concerning the Holocaust, Jewish resistance, European labor concerns, the Jewish Labor Movement in America and anti-communism and Soviet Jewry. Included are invitations, programs and general information concerning miscellaneous concerts, conventions, symposia, and summer fellowships. A brochure regarding the Jewish Labor Committee's Child Adoption Program and materials relating to the Women's Division and Workmen's Circle also are found in the collection. In addition the collection contains publications issued by other organizations, including: American Federation of Labor, American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Friends of Democracy, National Community Relations Advisory Council, United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and the United States Displaced Persons Commission.

This collection is comprised of one folder of telegrams, correspondence, and a resolution, disseminated by the Jewish Public Relations Council in Pittsburgh, PA in response to the “Free Ports” plan, May-June 1944.

This collection contains posters, programs, and newspaper reviews for performances of Jewish theater in cities in Germany, Austria, and Lithuania, including theater produced by and about displaced persons in post-World War II Germany.

The collection contains papers of Joel Sandberg and Adele Sandberg, among the co-founders of the South Florida Conference on Soviet Jewry. It covers the period from the mid-1970's to the early 1990's and documents the Sandbergs' activities as leaders of the South Florida Conference on Soviet Jewry, as well as their individual efforts in the American Soviet Jewry movement. The documents include correspondence, memos, minutes, news clippings and photos.